


Acceptance

by Zygella



Series: Diamond Visits [10]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, please read notes!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 15:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17686505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zygella/pseuds/Zygella
Summary: “My name is unimportant. What’s important is that you realize this: You cannot stay here. This place is wrong, haven’t you noticed? It’s everything you ever wanted. That alone should’ve warned you that all of this isn’t real."A certain Pink Gem comes to terms with its life.





	Acceptance

**Author's Note:**

> SO. I was browsing through my old Google Docs, which I have... a lot of... and I came across a short story I had written for a Creative Writing class assignment from years ago. I read it over, and realized that I could replace the characters I had made up for said story and insert Steven Universe characters in it, and the whole underlying plot of it would fit really well. So, that's what this is. Keep in mind, this is writing from when I was literally 14 years old. Almost 4 years ago now. I don't think I've really changed that much in my writing style since then, but here you go, enjoy it anyways.

Rose opened her eyes to a pale yellow sky. Pink tinted clouds inched along the yellow sea like sheep grazing a golden pasture of tall grasses. A flock of bird flew in formation across her vision. She blinked, taking the sight around her in. But where was she? Rose did not remember her home having yellow skies or pink clouds as a common occurrence. Perhaps, maybe, it was a sunset, the sun’s last rays casting over the wall of the horizon as a final goodbye until the next morning. Yet, as Rose glanced around the peaceful landscape, she realized the sky was void of the sun entirely. Where could this brilliant display of light be coming from?

 

A rustling noise behind Rose promoted her to turn her head from the baffling sky. A bush sat proudly among a largely empty field of grass and flowers. The bush held berries on its outer green, berries the girl had never seen in her life. There were purple ones, pink ones, red ones, blue ones! A rainbow like assortment of flavorful wonder. The bush rustled again, and this time a small boy stepped out of the berry-covered green. She brushed a few lone leaves out of her light pink hair.

 

“Who are you? And where am I?” Rose asked the woman, impatient for answers.

 

The woman smiled brightly at her. “You are in your world. Everything you've ever dreamed, everything you've ever imagined! This is all yours. Yours to keep, yours to play in, yours to live in. Everything you've ever wanted is all right here. Your very own joy land.” She responded, smile never wavering from her face.

 

Rose crossed her arms with a frown. “But you didn't answer my first question!”

 

The woman laughed. “I was getting there! I don't really have a name, but you can call me Pink! I will be your guide to this world. Come on, there's so much to show you!”

 

Rose eyed her hand, which she'd outstretched as an invitation. On one hand, she woke up here in this unknown place without any clue how she'd gotten here in the first place. Her brain had always told her not to trust strangers. But Pink looked so inviting, so innocent, a child glee radiant in her posture, just like her. She took the woman’s hand, and they ran across the flower-filled plain with glee.

 

“So where are you taking me, Pink? If I didn't know any better I'd say you were going without a plan!” Rose teased.

 

“Don't give up on me just yet, Rose! You created this world, therefore you are a legend with all creatures who live here! I'm taking you to meet them all!” She replied.

 

They continued through the flower field, running as fast as their legs could take them. Rose felt like she was back as a young gem witnessing everything in life for the first time. She hadn't felt this young in years!

 

The flower field started to incline into a steep hill. Pink and Rose climbed the hill carefully, still hand in hand.

 

“Remember when you used to climb to the top of a hill with your friends and jump as far as you could from the top? You'd repeat that for hours!” Pink exclaimed with a laugh.

 

“Yeah, I remember! But I haven't done so in a long while. My friends and I play other games though!” Rose replied.

 

Pink faltered for a moment, but just a moment. Rose didn't see her split-second change in attitude. “A long while, huh? Don't you ever miss it?”

 

Rose shrugged. “I've never really thought about it ever since i stopped doing it. My family used to say when you grow up, you grow out of certain things. I guess I'm maturing!”

 

Pink’s eyes softened in sadness as she gazed at her. “Yeah… maturing…” She shook herself out of her reverie. “We're almost there!”

 

The two finally reached the peak of the hill and gazed out to the valley below. Populating the valley were all sorts of gems! Peridots, Pearls, Quartzes, Sapphires, and even fictional ones that didn’t exist back in Rose’s world, like Galena, Crystal, even Ice! It was everything she ever wanted! Except… something seemed like it was missing…

 

“Everyone! Rose has finally come to our world, she’s come to see us!” Pink shouted to the hoards below, a giant grin once again plastered on her childishly gleeful face.

 

The hoards below erupted into cheerful noises, and Rose realized the gems below spoke such strange languages! They were chanting her name in human speak, gem speak, and other fairy-tale languages she had the misfortune to not understand. It sounded like singing to her, songs of legends and folktales her family used to tell her right before she ran off elsewhere. Although she hadn’t heard a story from her family like that since she was younger.

 

In her thoughts, Rose didn’t notice Pink scowling at her. She was too wrapped up in her memories of earlier life.

 

“Rose, let’s get away from the chaos. I still have to show you so much!” She cut in quickly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and spinning her away from the cheering gems.

 

The two traveled the vast world, stopping only at the important places. The city, which where the gems lived in harmony and happiness, the river which the water sources came from, and the farm fields where all sorts of treats grew successfully. They walked the golden pathways along many different landscapes, all of which Rose remembered dreaming about or imagining at least once in her life.

 

“We’re almost done! Now I just have to show you to your place!” Pink said cheerfully.

 

“My place?” Rose asked curiously. She didn’t realize she would be getting her own place to live.

 

“Sure! You have to live somewhere, don’t you?” Pink replied without missing a beat, skipping along the path ahead of her.

 

Rose didn’t think anything of it. A place of her own! She wondered what it would look like. Wait, she already knew what it would look like! She created everything in this world, it was all generated from her memories! She just hoped it looked exactly the way she remembered it.

 

“Here we are!” Pink announced with a bow.

 

The place was a small cave glittering with shining stone. A door was set in the wall of the cave, with a star and five different colored circles in each arm. Rocky formations hung from the ceiling and sprouted from the ground, water dripping from them into pools of florescent liquid. The door glowed a soft pink as Rose approached it, opening to reveal a vast, endless room of pink clouds and soft tones.

 

“Well, I assume you must be tired out from such a long tour! I will leave you for now, but I promise to return so I can escort you to the party I and the gems have prepared in celebration of your arrival. Until then, Rose!” Pink informed the stunned gem with a small smirk, before turning around and walking down the golden path.

 

Rose found her feet moving her towards the door, and she entered it with great wonder. The inside of the room was even more amazing and comforting. It looked bland and empty at first, save for the clouds lazily rolling by at every passing moment. She suddenly fought that whatever the thought of, wished for, suddenly came to be a physical thing in the room! It was like the world outside the room, only she could control it in real time here. It was wonderful. She could be happy here.

 

“Could you really?” An unknown voice sounded from the far end of the room.

 

Rose’s head bolted up to look at where the voice came from. In the corner was another woman, but smaller and more serious. She frowned at Rose, meeting her gaze.

 

“Who are you?” Rose asked for the second time that day.

 

“My name is unimportant. What’s important is that you realize this: You cannot stay here. This place is wrong, haven’t you noticed? It’s everything you ever wanted. That alone should’ve warned you that all of this isn’t real. You cannot stay here. You must leave, with me. I can take you back. Back to where you belong. Your proper world.” She spoke coldly.

 

Rose faltered. It was true, she had been plagued with voices in the back of her head telling her she had to leave. She was forgetting something, something important from her proper world. But she couldn’t quite bring back the memory.

 

“You realize that if you stay here, you will never see your family and friends again? They cannot come here, and you cannot create them here. A copy will not be the same as the real thing. Would you really give up your family and friends, just to live here?” She spoke again.

 

Rose thought for a moment. Just a moment. There really was no question. She had to leave.

 

“Alright. I’ll go home with you. But I have to say goodbye to Pink first. She deserves to know I’m leaving at least.”

 

The mystery woman sighed. “She may not take it very well.”

 

“I don’t care. She deserves to know.” Rose repeated, exiting the room.

 

She and the mystery woman trekked down the path and to the town where the gems lived. She noticed they were preparing for a party. Now she was upset, she was leaving and they were setting up for nothing! But she really had to go.

 

“Hey, Pink!” The gem called, catching sight of her talking to a pair of purple-colored quartzes.

 

Pink took notice to her call and smiled brightly. Bounding over to her, she was about to start talking when she caught sight of the woman standing behind her. Her smile died on her face, and was replaced with a dangerously calm expression.

 

“What is _she_ doing here? What’s going on?” She asked darkly.

 

“Pink, I’m really sorry. I can’t stay here, I have to go with her back to my real world. I love this place dearly, but I can’t just leave my family and my friends. It was nice to stay here for the time that I did. Goodbye Pink.” Rose spoke sadly, dipping her head to avoid her gaze.

 

There was silence for a moment, and then Pink spoke again.

 

“No.”

 

Rose’s head snapped up in shock. “What?”

 

Pink snarled. “I said no! You can’t leave, you’re not allowed to leave! You’re supposed to stay here, you’re forced to stay here! You can’t leave with _her!_ Don’t you see who she is?! She’s the one who’s going to destroy this world, she’s going to destroy me!”

 

Rose whirled around to look at the mystery woman. She was gazing sadly at her.

 

“I cannot deny this, but this is the choice you must make. Rose, you can’t leave ever again if you choose to stay with Pink. You’ll stay here forever. But in your choice to stay, your family and friends will lose you. They will never see you again, they will experience the worst. But if you choose to leave, this world will die. Everyone here will fade away into distant memory, never allowed to return to this type of existence again. However, your family and friends will not lose you. You will be able to see them again. Which would you choose, memories of them or memories of this place?” She asked.

 

“Rose, please! Please don’t go with her! If you leave, I will fade away. If you leave, we all fade away. We’ll never get to see you again! You’ll forget about us over time! You’ll abandon us… please… I’m begging you. Don’t let me fade away.” Pink pleaded, falling to her knees, tears dripping down her face.

 

Rose looked between them. “How can you stand there and have me make this choice?! This is unfair! You can’t possibly think this decision is ideal to be put in anyone's hands!” She wailed.

 

“That’s just it, Rose. You aren’t just anyone. You're Pink's last hope. This is why Pink wants you to stay here. If you stay here, she can't cease to exist. But, if you don’t wake up, then you’ll lose the life you have in the real world, and you’ll stay Rose forever, keeping this world and Pink alive. But if you leave with me and wake up, you’ll keep living and this world disappears.” The woman said.

 

Pink stayed on the ground sobbing. “Please… please don’t go with Pearl…”

 

Rose bit her lip, tears pooling in her eyes. She didn’t want to choose. But she had to. Just one of things you do. She knelt on the ground and hugged Pink tightly.

 

“Pink… I’m so sorry… but I have to go… time stops for no one, not even me. I have to let this place go. I have to go with Pearl.”

 

As soon as she whispered those words, the sky darkened. The clouds shriveled, the grass rotted, the town crumbled away to dust. Pink began to glow a bright, yellow light as her body faded. But before she disappeared completely, she looked up and smiled at her one last time, tears and all.

 

“Goodbye, Rose.”

 

“Goodbye, Pink.”

 

And she was gone.

 

Rose turned back to Pearl, wiping her eyes clear of her own tears. “What do I do now?”

 

Pearl smiled at her. “Wake up.”

 

And suddenly, the world disappeared. It was black for a second, and she opened her eyes again. She was back in the familiarity of her own room, in her own world. It had been a dream. But standing in front of her bed were her dad, the Crystal Gems, Lapis, and Peridot, holding a birthday cake. Hold on... no, not her. His. His dad and the Gems. His family... He glanced out his window for a moment and saw Yellow, Blue, and White Diamond standing outside, waiting for him.

 

“Happy 15th birthday, Steven!”

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaaand that's a wrap! I really want y'alls feedback on this one. How did the writing fair compared to my more recent works? I could keep going through all my old Google Docs, trying to find original fiction stuff I wrote to convert. Not like it's doing any good sitting in my docs, collecting dust.
> 
> Do you understand the underlying plot? I'll admit, the plot in this stand alone isn't quite as obvious. Before I character swapped, Rose was a child named Janovia, Pink was a boy named Kid, and Pearl was also a boy, but an older one, named Teen. The original piece I wrote is called "Growing Up". I did have to change some of the other aspects, but 95% of what's in this story is from the original.
> 
> Yee. I had originally wanted the whole concept to be a proper book, but I think it's better suited as a short story.
> 
> Until next time my dudes! Don't forget to tell me what you thought!


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